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‘Unambiguous’: Excess Deaths in Cyprus Tied to COVID Vaccine Rollout

By Brenda Baletti, Ph.D. | The Defender | May 29, 2024

Cyprus saw a “substantial, statistically significant,” increase in mortality from all causes in late 2021 and early 2022 following the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines, TrialSite News reported last week.

Researchers from Cyprus, the University of Liverpool and Harvard University found that during the third and fourth quarters of 2021, total deaths in the island nation increased 34.1% and 11.8% respectively. During the first quarter of 2022, total deaths increased 30.7%.

Cyprus began its COVID-19 vaccine rollout in December 2020, but the peaks in monthly vaccination rates occurred in May 2021 and December 2021 and were followed by jumps in the mortality rates.

“We concluded that excess mortality occurs in unprecedented levels in Cyprus,” the researchers wrote. “Our findings raise serious concerns regarding the potential impact of the vaccination campaign and other causes on mortality.”

The authors published their findings in the Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health. Based on the association they identified, they said, “a detailed cause-specific investigation of such a significant excess number of deaths is warranted to explore the potential factors leading to this concerning and unexplained increase in population mortality.”

The researchers analyzed mortality data from 2016-2022, as reported by the Cyprus Ministry of Health to the European Statistical Office, or Eurostat. They also analyzed weekly data on COVID-19 vaccinations and related deaths collected during the pandemic by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Using that data, they determined average all-cause mortality rates and excess deaths over time, deaths reported from COVID-19 and total COVID-19 vaccines administered for Cyprus by age group.

They compared excess deaths before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and examined how those numbers related to the vaccine rollout.

Denis Rancourt, Ph.D., all-cause mortality researcher and former physics professor at the University of Ottawa in Canada who was not involved in the study, told The Defender :

“There’s clearly a temporal association here between vaccines and excess all-cause mortality. This association is robust, it’s unambiguous, it’s clear, it’s in the data itself.”

Rancourt’s team of scientists at the Canada-based Correlation Research in the Public Interest has also conducted several studies that found strong associations between vaccine rollouts and excess mortality.

He said the mortality rates and the association with the vaccine reported in the Cyprus study are similar to what his team found in their own analysis of Cyprus, which is part of a larger study not yet published.

However, to confirm what caused the deaths, Rancourt said, “You have to dig deeper as the authors correctly point out to find out what is really going on here,” Rancourt added.

Data on excess deaths in Cyprus 

Epidemiologists use all-cause mortality — a measure of the total number of deaths from all causes in a given time frame for a given population — as the most reliable data for detecting and characterizing events causing death and evaluating the population-level effect of deaths from any cause.

Excess death, or excess mortality, refers to the number of deaths from all causes during a crisis above and beyond what would be expected under ‘normal’ conditions.

Excess mortality is a “more comprehensive measure” of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality than the confirmed COVID-19 deaths because it captures deaths from other causes, like vaccines, treatment protocols or other factors that are attributable to the “overall COVID-19 crisis,” the authors wrote.

“COVID-19 death data is notoriously not reliable,” Rancourt agreed.

Research also shows that the trends identified in Cyprus are consistent with broader regional and global trends, the authors said. Across the EU, the authors wrote, excess deaths increased in 2020 and continued through 2023, albeit at variable rates.

Cyprus, they noted, was one of the EU member states with the highest excess mortality — in 2022 it had the highest excess mortality rate in Europe, reaching 26.4%.

This was consistent with findings worldwide. For example, a study found the U.S. experienced substantial excess mortality during the pandemic. And the authors’ previously published research showed a substantial increase in mortality in Cyprus in 2021 compared to 2020, even when excluding deaths reported to be caused by COVID-19.

For their current study, the authors calculated the average all-cause mortality using pre-pandemic data from 2016-2019 and assessed how mortality deviated from that level. Before 2020, they found very little excess mortality.

They presented their findings in a series of tables and graphs.

They found two peaks in vaccination across Cyprus’s population of 904,705 people. In May 2021, when the first peak happened, 42% of the population was vaccinated. In December 2021 at the second peak, 71% of the population was vaccinated. They found that after each vaccination peak, there was a higher rate of excess deaths, which was more severe after the second peak.

They also noted that excess deaths remained low during the period between the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus and the start of the vaccination campaign, only beginning to climb substantially after the vaccine was introduced.

Overall there were approximately 3,000 excess deaths in 2021-2022.

High mortality rate in summer ‘unheard of’

Rancourt said there were a few interesting things in the data that the authors didn’t highlight. Cyprus typically has higher mortality in the winter and low in the summer, he said.

“It’s unheard of to have a high mortality in the summer. But in 2021, just after the main first wave of vaccination rollout, after a large number of vaccine doses had been given, there was a very large summer peak in excess mortality.”

Then, there was another peak in the spring and summer following the winter 2022 vaccine push.

In their study, the researchers again found that when they excluded the reported number of deaths from COVID-19, the increase in all-cause mortality persisted. This finding is also consistent with other studies, the authors reported.

The authors said their study was limited by their inability to explore what caused the documented excess mortality. They blamed a lack of access to detailed death certificates, which haven’t been made available to researchers.

“We call for official authorities to share information on diagnoses and causes of death from corresponding death certificates in order to further explore the underlying causes of these troublesome increased mortality findings,” they wrote.

They did note several issues identified in the existing literature that provide hypotheses about the causes of the rise in all-cause mortality and highlight “the concerns that the vaccination campaign may have contributed to this worldwide observed excess mortality.”

Many researchers have identified links between the toxicity of vaccine batches and adverse events, they noted. Rancourt and his team have linked the vaccine rollouts to unprecedented peaks in all-cause mortality in a study of 17 countries.

Rancourt said they are currently completing a study of 125 countries, including Cyprus, and their analysis of that country produced similar results to the current study.

The study authors also noted that during the pandemic, pressures on the healthcare system undermined access to and quality of care, increasing mortality. They also noted that lockdowns had documented serious health effects including increased mortality.

Rancourt said his work demonstrated that there may be multiple causes of all-cause mortality from different pandemic-response-related practices, including vaccination and the application of different COVID-19 treatment protocols or the psychological stress of lockdowns and isolation.

However, frail, elderly and otherwise sick people were consistently most vulnerable to death.

This article was originally published by The Defender — Children’s Health Defense’s News & Views Website under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Please consider subscribing to The Defender or donating to Children’s Health Defense.

May 29, 2024 Posted by | Science and Pseudo-Science, Timeless or most popular | , | Leave a comment

Excess Cardiopulmonary Arrest and Mortality after COVID-19 Vaccination in King County, Washington

During Intense Vaccine Campaign Population Declined but Cardiac Arrests Skyrocketed

BY PETER A. MCCULLOUGH, MD, MPH | COURAGEOUS DISCOURSE | MAY 28, 2024

We previously brought you news from King County, Seattle Washington about cardiac arrests from the elite MEDIC ONE EMS system which has the most accurate data in the country. It also happens to be one of the most heavily vaccinated metro areas in America.

Hulscher et al from the McCullough Foundation led a team of investigators that relied on the annual data reports and integrated them with COVID-19 vaccination and population statistics. This is an ecological analysis without individual case record data, so only broad population level inferences can be made.

“Approximately 98% of the King County population received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by 2023. Our analysis revealed a 25.7% increase in total cardiopulmonary arrests and a 25.4% increase in cardiopulmonary arrest mortality from 2020 to 2023 in King County, WA. Excess cardiopulmonary arrest deaths were estimated to have increased by 1,236% from 2020 to 2023, rising from 11 excess deaths (95% CI: -12, 34) in 2020 to 147 excess deaths (95% CI: 123, 170) in 2023. A quadratic increase in excess cardiopulmonary arrest mortality was observed with higher COVID-19 vaccination rates. The general population of King County sharply declined by 0.94% (21,300) in 2021, deviating from the expected population size. Applying our model from these data to the entire United States yielded 49,240 excess fatal cardiopulmonary arrests from 2021-2023.”

Hulscher, N., Cook, M., Stricker, R., & McCullough, P. A. (2024). Excess Cardiopulmonary Arrest and Mortality after COVID-19 Vaccination in King County, Washington. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.1665.v1

These data are extremely worrisome given the rise in all-cause mortality observed in the United States that has been thoroughly investigated and reported by analyst Edward Dowd in his book “Cause Unknown”: The Epidemic of Sudden Deaths in 2021 & 2022 & 2023. Hulscher and colleagues found despite a pandemic decline in county population, both cardiac arrest events and fatal outcomes increased with vaccination. These findings among many others strongly support removal of all COVID-19 vaccines from public use and immediate clinical and research programs to stem the tide of vaccine cardiac arrests as they occur over the years after injection.

Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH

President, McCullough Foundation

www.mcculloughfnd.org

Hulscher, N., Cook, M., Stricker, R., & McCullough, P. A. (2024). Excess Cardiopulmonary Arrest and Mortality after COVID-19 Vaccination in King County, Washington. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.1665.v1

May 29, 2024 Posted by | Science and Pseudo-Science | , | Leave a comment

NIH-Funded Scientists Develop mRNA Bird Flu Vaccine ‘to Prevent Human Infections’

By Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D. | The Defender | May 28, 2024

Federally funded researchers have developed an experimental mRNA H5N1 bird flu vaccine that they said is “highly effective” in preventing severe illness and death in infected lab animals.

According to a University of Pennsylvania press release, the vaccine “could potentially help manage the outbreak of the H5N1 virus currently circulating in birds and cattle in the United States, and prevent human infections with the virus.”

The news comes as the U.S. and European nations consider vaccinating workers deemed as at risk for contracting bird flu.

The researchers — who on May 23 published their results in Nature Communications — reported their mRNA lipid nanoparticle vaccine elicited “strong” T cell and antibody responses in female mice infected with H5N1.

They also said their vaccine produced an immune response in male ferrets and prevented death.

U.S. News and World Report and other media outlets reported on the study, which was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Robert Malone — an early pioneer of mRNA vaccines technology and an outspoken critic of U.S. federal biomedical corruption during the COVID-19 pandemic — called the news coverage of the study “investor hype” and “fear porn.”

“There’s no evidence of human-to-human transmission of H5N1,” Malone told The Defender.

Malone said the researchers would need to show that there’s a “reasonable facsimile” between ferrets and humans to claim the vaccine can prevent severe illness and death in humans.

The likelihood of people getting H5N1 is very small, Malone said. “The thing is, it doesn’t readily infect humans.”

Only those who are immunocompromised or who slaughtered an infected waterfowl might be at risk of transmission, he said, so H5N1 is being “used to instill fear” in the public to generate federal funding for H5N1 vaccine research.

Meanwhile, there’s plenty of evidence that the lead researchers have clear conflicts of interest, Malone said. “They absolutely stand to profit” from their experimental bird flu vaccine.

Scott Hensley, Ph.D. and Drew Weissman, M.D., Ph.D. at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania — who led the research — are listed as co-inventors on patents for mRNA vaccine technologies.

They’ll likely receive royalties payments, Malone said. “It’s similar to how [Dr. Anthony] Fauci gets money from his royalties.”

Malone said the Bayh-Dole Act, passed in 1980, incentivized U.S. universities and their faculty members to patent federally funded research — so it’s common for university researchers to develop something they believe to be patentable. “They disclose it [their discovery] to the university and the university files the patent.”

The patent’s terms and conditions typically say that the money from the license gets split between the university, the school or department chair and the researchers, according to Malone.

Hensley is a paid consultant for Pfizer, Merck, Lumen, Novavax and Sanofi.

Hensley did not immediately respond to The Defender’s questions about his research and consulting fees from pharmaceutical companies.

U Penn is a ‘pharma R & D’

The University of Pennsylvania is a $11.1 billion enterprise, according to its press release.

Malone referred to the school as a “pharma R & D” because of how much of its efforts focus on researching and developing pharmaceutical technologies.

Much of the school’s money comes from the pharmaceutical industry, which pays to use patents held by the university, he said. “Penn is sitting on royalty cash from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.”

Weissman, who has been at the university since 1997, was one of the two scientists awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discoveries that enabled the modified mRNA technology used in Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines.

The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania did not immediately respond to The Defender’s request for comment.

Fox News today reported that the U.S. is in talks with Pfizer and Moderna about developing an mRNA H5N1 bird flu vaccine to protect poultry and dairy workers from a potential pandemic threat.

Dawn O’Connell of the U.S. Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response told Fox News the government is “looking closely” at the possibility of vaccinating farm workers and others in close contact with the virus.

Earlier this month, O’Connell told NBC News that mRNA bird flu vaccine could be quicker to manufacture than a non-mRNA bird flu vaccine because “you can switch in and switch out the genetic sequencing very easily.”

This article was originally published by The Defender — Children’s Health Defense’s News & Views Website under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Please consider subscribing to The Defender or donating to Children’s Health Defense.

May 29, 2024 Posted by | Science and Pseudo-Science | , | 1 Comment

Ex-RAF Copter Pilots Sue UK Defense Ministry For Exposure to Cancer-Causing Agents

By Oleg Burunov – Sputnik – 29.05.2024

Almost 40 former UK Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots and aircrew who have developed cancer as a result of toxic exhaust fumes from military helicopters are taking legal actions against the Ministry of Defenсe (MoD), The Times has reported.

The government has been aware of the fumes-related risks since 1999, but did nothing about it, according to testimony from sick personnel and their family members.

The number of those who have sued the MoD is predicted to double in the coming weeks. At least three of those affected are already understood to have died, with some former service personnel being handed out-of-court settlements.

The pilots who traveled in Sea King, Westland Wessex, Puma and CH-47 Chinook helicopters have been diagnosed with lung cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, throat cancer, multiple myeloma, and testicular cancer. Notably, while Sea King and Westland Wessex choppers were retired, Puma and Chinook remain in service in the RAF.

Those affected reportedly include personnel of all ranks, “from those in the highest positions in the armed forces to leading aircrew and sergeants.”

Jonathan Dingle, a leading barrister at Normanton Chambers who is working on the cases, told The Times that engine jet efflux gases, which contain benzene carcinogens, that “were apparently being sucked through the cabin and out again through the cockpits — mixing as the air which everyone onboard the aircraft was breathing.”

The pilots, however, “were not provided with masks or filters or purified air or any form of filtration system. They were not warned about the whole system,” Dingle added.

A MoD spokeswoman has meanwhile reacted by stating that the ministry “hugely” values its service personnel and veterans and owes “a debt of gratitude to all those who serve, often with great personal sacrifice.” According to the spokeswoman, those who “believe they have suffered ill health due to service from April 6, 2005 have the existing and longstanding right to apply for no-fault compensation under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.”

May 29, 2024 Posted by | Deception | , | Leave a comment

War in Ukraine shattering ‘superiority’ of US-made weaponry: Responsible Statecraft 

Al Mayadeen | May 29, 2024

While critics claim that technologically complex US weapons produce unreliable systems in limited quantities because of cost, a report by Responsible Statecraft proves otherwise, stating that the failure of US weapons in Ukraine is much due to the military’s lack of adequate testing.

Successive “game-changing” systems like the Switchblade drone, the M-1 Abrams tank, Patriot air defense missiles, the M777 howitzer, the Excalibur guided 155 mm artillery round, the HIMARS precision missile, GPS-guided bombs, and Skydio drones with artificial intelligence were all transferred to Ukraine. That is when the show of strength began.

For instance, the $60,000 limited-quantity Switchblade drone didn’t work against armored targets, and Ukrainian troops chose instead $700 Chinese commercial models bought online, RS reported.

The $10 million Abrams tank kept malfunctioning and was soon taken out of combat. Russia was able to capture at least one, which they added to a display of NATO weaponry in a Moscow park alongside an M777 howitzer and other items. This stands as a plain display of mockery toward the US and its so-called military superiority.

The M777 cannon, known for its accuracy, proved to be too vulnerable in rough conditions. Its barrels frequently wore out and needed replacement in Poland, while its 155 mm ammunition has been suffering from short supply.

May 29, 2024 Posted by | Corruption, Science and Pseudo-Science | , | 1 Comment

Protests and demonstrations around the world condemn the Israeli massacres in Gaza

Palestinian Information Center – May 29, 2024

European and Arab cities and capitals on Tuesday witnessed solidarity protests, marches, and vigils with the Gaza Strip, condemning the ongoing Israeli massacres against the displaced in Rafah in the south of the enclave.

The protesters demanded an end to the war and the punishment of the Israeli officials responsible for the genocide in Gaza, and also called for a halt to supplying Israel with the weapons it uses to kill women and children and destroy residential buildings in the enclave.

In Britain, thousands of supporters of Palestine demonstrated in the streets of the British capital London, condemning the continued Israeli massacres in the city of Rafah.

The protesters rallying in the vicinity of Downing Street, the official residence and office of the prime minister, called on the British government to condemn the Israeli aggression and stop arms exports to Tel Aviv. They raised banners condemning the continued aggression on Gaza and demanding an immediate ceasefire.

Dozens of protesters blocked the entrance to the Israeli arms factory belonging to the “Elbit” company in the British village of Chineham, in support of Gaza and condemning the crimes of genocide.

In Belgium, the Belgian police dispersed protesters in the capital Brussels with water cannons as they tried to reach the Israeli embassy as part of a protest against the bombardment of Rafah.

In Ireland, Palestinian, Arab and Irish activists supporting the Palestinian cause demonstrated in front of the Irish Parliament in Dublin, coinciding with the Irish government’s recognition of the State of Palestine.

The protesters raised the Palestinian flags and banners in support of Palestinian rights in front of the parliament garden, which witnessed the raising of the Palestinian flag for the first time.

In France, thousands of people demonstrated on Tuesday evening in Paris for the second day in a row, protesting the Israeli massacres in Rafah.

The place de la République in the center of the capital was crowded with people, and Palestinian flags were placed on the statue in the center, with a large banner reading “Stop the Genocide”.

In Norway, a demonstration was held in front of the Norwegian Parliament building to celebrate the government’s recognition of the State of Palestine, and to demand the withdrawal of Norwegian investments from Israel and pressure for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire.

The demonstrators raised Palestinian flags and banners calling for an immediate ceasefire, and banners accusing Israel of committing a war of extermination. The demonstrators called for the punishment of those responsible for the genocide in Gaza.

In the Netherlands, dozens of supporters of Palestine held a silent protest in front of the city hall in Utrecht, to condemn the burning of tents and the killing of civilian children and women in Tel Sultan, west of Rafah.

The protesters laid on the ground in front of the building to represent the scene of the victims’ deaths in Gaza, raising Palestinian flags and chanting slogans condemning the Dutch government’s support for Israel since the beginning of the aggression, and calling for the protection of Rafah.

In Canada, the city of Toronto witnessed a massive demonstration on Monday evening to condemn the massacre of the tents committed by the Israeli army in the Palestinian city of Rafah.

The activists marched through the streets of the city, chanting slogans condemning the ongoing Israeli crimes, and calling for an end to the ongoing genocide in Gaza and a ceasefire.

In Mexico, pro-Palestinian supporters held a protest demonstration in front of the Israeli embassy in Mexico City, condemning the Israeli massacre in Rafah and rejecting the continued aggression on Gaza.

Many of the demonstrators tried to storm the embassy building and pelted it with stones, amid clashes with the Mexican police.

In Jordan, hundreds of Jordanians demonstrated around the Israeli embassy west of the capital Amman, condemning the ongoing genocide in Gaza against the besieged civilian population.

The protesters chanted slogans supporting the Palestinian resistance, calling for the need to deliver humanitarian and medical aid.

They also condemned normalization with Israel and called on the Jordanian government and Arab governments to end all diplomatic and economic agreements with Israel.

In Yemen, protesters organized rallies and marches condemning the Israeli massacres in Rafah, according to the Saba news agency.

Hundreds of students participated in marches in the governorates of Sanaa, Amran and Hajjah, in support and solidarity with the resistance in Gaza and in solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people.

In Morocco, hundreds of Moroccans, including human rights activists, organized a rally in front of the Parliament building in the capital Rabat, in solidarity with Gaza and condemning the recent massacres in Rafah.

Through banners calling to “Stop the Rafah Massacres”, the participating protesters expressed their rejection of Israel’s defiance of all international conventions and rulings of the International Court of Justice through its continued massacres in Rafah, calling on international institutions to activate their mechanisms to deter it.

Many Moroccan cities, including Tangier, are witnessing similar protest marches, at an almost daily pace, in solidarity with the Palestinian people and rejecting normalization.

May 29, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism, War Crimes | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Smotrich says West Bank Palestinian Resistance ‘must be fought like in Gaza’

Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, during a news conference in Jerusalem, Israel, on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024 [Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
MEMO | May 29, 2024

Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves in the Defence Ministry, stated today that Palestinian Resistance groups in the Occupied West Bank “must be fought like in Gaza.”

According to the Times of Israel, Smotrich’s remarks came after sporadic gunfire from the West Bank village of Tulkarm targeted the Israeli town of Bat Hefer in the central Sharon region.

The identity of those responsible for the gunfire into Bat Hefer remains unclear, and Israeli politicians’ claims that Palestinians were involved could not be independently verified.

“We must not allow them to do in the Sharon what they did on October 7 near the Gaza border,” Smotrich wrote on X. “Terror needs to be uprooted anywhere, even if it means Tulkarm will look like Gaza looks today,” he added.

Smotrich further added that a future Palestinian State would pose “an existential threat to the State of Israel.”

The far-right Minister also stated that he has spoken with Emek Hefer Regional Council head, Galit Shaul, and agreed to hold a meeting in the coming days with other officials “to address the immediate needs arising from the increased threat to the residents.”

May 29, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

The war is lost, so why is Netanyahu still killing civilians in Rafah?

By Ramzy Baroud | MEMO | May 29, 2024

Just hours after Israel carried out a gruesome massacre of displaced Palestinians in the Tel Al-Sultan area west of Rafah in the Gaza Strip on 26 May, it carried out yet another massacre in the Al-Mawasi area. The first is now known as the “Tents Massacre”. It took place shortly after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) finally issued a stern demand that, “Israel must immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in Rafah which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

The killing of 50 Palestinians in their own displacement tents was the answer given by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist government to the ICJ and the rest of the international community. The successive Israeli massacres in Rafah demonstrate the degree of intransigence of Israel’s genocidal regime.

Netanyahu and his Minister of Defence, Yoav Gallant, who could both be on the official “wanted” list of the International Criminal Court (ICC) within weeks, could easily have chosen a different path, even for mere political manoeuvring. They could, for example, have delayed their Rafah operation or changed strategies, just to avoid further ICJ rulings on the matter. Instead, they went for the most arrogant and cowardly of choices: killing civilians.

Their 2000lb bunker-busting bombs dismembered and beheaded children as they lay beside their mothers in makeshift camps that have no water, no electricity and no food. While the Israeli army offered the world a clearly concocted version of what happened, blaming “militants” and such, Netanyahu’s office described the attack as a mistake.

Both versions, of course, were lies. The Israeli army possesses some of the most advanced surveillance technology in the world, thanks to US generosity and continued support. It could easily have distinguished between a Palestinian Resistance operational area and a refugee camp filled with children and women.

If the attack was indeed a mistake, what explains the other massacres that followed, also in Rafah and in nearby Mawasi, which killed and maimed scores of refugees? And what is the logic behind the killing and wounding of nearly 130,000 Palestinians since the start of the war on 7 October, the majority of whom were women and children?

The Tents Massacre was neither a mistake, nor can it be blamed on imaginary militants operating from inside displaced refugees’ tents. Nevertheless, Netanyahu did have his own logic. For a start, he wanted to send a direct message to let the ICJ know that Israel is not perturbed by its direct order to end the Rafah operation. The intended audience of this message was not necessarily the ICJ judges, but the international community, which remains, despite its solidarity rhetoric, ineffectual in influencing the duration, direction or nature of the Israeli war.

Netanyahu also wanted to score cheap political points against his rivals in his War Cabinet, by presenting himself as the bold Israeli leader who is standing up to the whole world. He has stated over and over again that “[the Jewish people] will stand alone.”

The Israeli leader must also have been informed that more Israeli soldiers had been captured by the Palestinian Resistance. The latter’s statement about this on 25 May was issued just one day before Netanyahu attacked Rafah. From a military point of view, the capturing of more soldiers who were sent to Gaza supposedly to free other Israeli captives should have been a “game over” moment.

The Gaza Resistance hasn’t released any more information since the initial, brief statement by Al-Qassam military spokesman, Abu Obeida. Hamas is known for releasing information to the public when it is strategically most opportune to do so, as was the case in its announcement that it is holding Israeli Colonel Asaf Hamami, who Israel declared to be dead last December.

Netanyahu and his army are trying desperately to pre-empt the angry reaction in Israeli society about the capture of soldiers by keeping the news focused on Rafah. He knows that such massacres widen his circle of support among his extreme far-right constituency.

Moreover, the timing of the massacre was also a message to the US, the mediators (Egypt and Qatar), Hamas and even members of the War Cabinet who are keen on ending the war through a truce agreement. Media reports have spoken about a potential breakthrough in talks, starting in Paris before moving to Doha, which showed some willingness on the part of Israel to link the release of prisoners to a permanent truce.

Such an agreement would be considered a defeat from Netanyahu’s point of view, and would certainly usher in the end of his political career. Hence, he simply lashed out against the refugees of Rafah with the hope of disrupting any potential deal in Doha.

It was for the same reason that his troops opened fire at Egyptian soldiers at the Rafah Crossing, killing one, possibly two, and wounding more. Egypt has been an important mediator in the truce talks. Attacking the mediator is not only humiliating for the Egyptian government, but for the army and Egyptian people as well.

Although Netanyahu has no strategy for the war itself, he has a strategy for prolonging his own political survival. It is predicated on mixing the political cards, ensuring chaos and carrying out constant massacres against civilians, all safe in the knowledge that Washington will always remain on his side no matter what. The Israeli leader is just buying time, though. Israel’s top generals and military experts and analysts know that the war has been lost and that prolonging it will not, in any way, alter its predictable outcomes.

May 29, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

US-supplied GBU-39 bombs used in Israeli attack on Rafah camps: CNN

Al Mayadeen | May 29, 2024

The origin of the weapon used in the Rafah airstrike three days ago was the United States, a report published by CNN revealed. The revelation makes the US government a prime suspect in facilitating the war crime, especially as the US officials refuse to condemn the action.

According to CNN, an analysis of the video from the scene and a review by explosive weapons experts has determined that the origin of the weapon put to use by Israeli occupation forces is in fact the United States.

This is not the first time that US-supplied weapons have been used to commit acts of genocide against the Palestinian population and target internationally protected organizations, as Washington is the primary supplier of explosives, bombs, missiles, and various types of munitions to the Israeli military.

It is worth noting that the US has also supplied the Israeli regime with 328 fighter aircraft, which have been used to commit the bulk of war crimes and instances of violations of international law in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria in the past eight months.

In Rafah, the strike, which consisted of two guided munition bombs, eventually led to a fire breaking out, killing at least 45 and injuring 200 others, most of whom were women and children.

Moreover, the strike occurred after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered the Israeli regime to halt its military attack on the city.

What was the bomb used by ‘Israel’?

It also says that from a video shared on social media, it was able to detect the tail of a US-made and supplied GBU-39 small-diameter bomb (SDB), which has a warhead composed of around 17 kg of ATX 757 explosive material. ATX 757 is 1.65 times more powerful than TNT, and it is thought that at least two GBU-39s were launched at the campsite. The last assumption is based on the remarks of the Israeli occupation forces spokesperson, Rear Admiral David Hagari, who said that the Air Force used two small bombs with a 17 kg warhead each.

Although the GBU-39 is meant to be used in highly precise strikes for important point targets, the bomb is usually used to target military-grade vehicles and aircraft, due to its highly explosive warhead and bunker-busting capabilities, meaning that it is likely to cause casualties in densely populated areas.

Weapons expert Chris Cobb-Smith confirmed this to CNN, as he said that “using any munition, even of this size, will always incur risks in a densely populated area.”

Despite multiple weapons experts identifying the weapon as the GBU-39 bombs and serial numbers on remnants of the bomb in the crime scene matching the claim, the United States Department of Defense said that it could not confirm the origin or type of munition used in the attack.

“In terms of this particular strike, I just don’t have more information for you,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters.

May 29, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Minsk Forced to Suspend CFE Treaty to Ensure National Security – Foreign Ministry

Sputnik – 29.05.2024

MINSK – The decision of Belarus to suspend the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) is a forces response step aimed at ensuring the country’s national security, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a bill to suspend the CFE Treaty into law, according to the country’s legal portal.

“The decision of the NATO member states to suspend the CFE Treaty left us no choice. The suspension of the CFE Treaty by Belarus is a forced response step aimed at ensuring the country’s national security against the backdrop of the destruction of the existing conventional arms control regime in Europe and the continuing escalation of military-political tensions in the region,” the ministry said in a statement.

Minsk was ready to implement the CFE Treaty, even despite the unfriendly steps of some countries, the ministry said, adding that Belarus will be ready to resume the agreement provided that NATO countries return to its implementation as well.

Belarus remains committed to conventional arms control to ensure security and is ready for dialogue with all interested countries, the statement read.

May 29, 2024 Posted by | Militarism | , | Leave a comment

Ukraine striking targets deep inside Russia with Western weapons – AFP

RT | May 29, 2024

Ukraine has used Western weapons against targets inside what it recognizes as Russian territory on multiple occasions, Agence France Presse (AFP) has claimed.

Some senior Western officials have urged nations that donate longer-range munitions to Ukraine not to ban their use deep inside Russia, while others have publicly objected to the idea. A restriction against such strikes has notably been imposed by the US, the main supplier of arms to Kiev. Washington has said the ban is meant to prevent an escalation of the conflict, and has made no indication that it will be lifted.

On Tuesday, the news agency cited several experts, who believe that donors should not be concerned, because several other Russian red lines have supposedly been crossed without consequence.

”Western weapons have already been used on several occasions against Russia’s territory, most recently against the southern town of Krasnodar, several Western sources said,” the report claimed.

AFP offered no details on those incidents or the weapons involved. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron has publicly stated that Ukraine “has the right” to hit targets in Russia with UK-made arms.

Last week, a Ukrainian intelligence source claimed that the country had targeted an early warning radar station based in Russia’s Krasnodar Region on May 22, and later another site in Orenburg Region.

Both locations have roles in nuclear deterrence. Their primary task is to detect an incoming missile and give the military enough time to launch a retaliation before nuclear weapons hit Russian territory.

The claim was given some credence by Dmitry Rogozin, a former senior Russian military official and now a lawmaker. He said it could be false, but if true, it means that Washington “has hired a reckless bandit, who is trying to damage… a key element of our system of strategic nuclear forces combat control.”

According to public statements by the Russian leadership, the country does retaliate when its red lines are crossed in the Ukraine conflict. After Kiev damaged the Crimean Bridge with a truck loaded with explosives in 2022, Moscow added Ukraine’s power grid to its list of military targets.

This year’s campaign of Ukrainian kamikaze drone raids on Russian oil facilities resulted in retaliatory missile strikes against Ukrainian thermal power stations. As of this week, all of them were either destroyed or damaged, according to Yury Boyko, a senior Ukrainian energy official.

May 29, 2024 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

US is Flirting With Idea of ‘Limited’ Nuclear Conflict With Russia and China

By Ekaterina Blinova – Sputnik – 29.05.2024

Washington is considering the deployment of nuclear-armed cruise missiles on Virginia-class attack submarines to deter China and Russia, according to the Asia Times.

US lawmakers have recently focused on how to modify Virginia-class attack submarines (SSN) to install nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missiles (SLCM-N). Last week they summoned Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe to discuss the complexities and uncertainties concerning arming attack submarines with SLCM-N. The discussion revolved around enhancing their nuclear deterrence against China and Russia, according to the Asia Times.

The SLCM-N is a cruise missile with a low-yield nuclear warhead launched from surface ships or attack submarines (SSNs). It was first proposed in 2018 alongside the low-yield version (with less than 10 kilotons of explosive power) of the W76 warhead to arm long-range ballistic missile submarines.

What are the SLCM-N program’s merits in the eyes of American lawmakers, military, and scholars?

First of all, US military experts argue that SLCM-Ns would allow the US to engage in a “limited” nuclear exchange in contrast to “massive retaliation”.

“If conflict crosses the nuclear threshold, lower yields would signal a clear interest in limiting its intensity,” wrote Lieutenant Commander Alan Cummings, US Navy Reserve, for US Naval Institute in April 2024.

In addition, using theater-based nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missiles might not be seen as “legitimizing” a nuclear retaliatory strike on the American homeland, according to US military experts. They suggest that it would make it hard for American adversaries to immediately identify the origin of the strike after an attack.

Placing SLCM-Ns on US attack submarines will allow the Pentagon to maintain a widespread and enduring presence in the North Atlantic, Arctic Ocean, and Asia-Pacific, according to Kyle Balzer of the American Enterprise Institute.

“Due to the low observability of undersea launchers, Beijing and Moscow will have to assume it is loitering on site,” wrote Balzer for Breaking Defense on February 28. “If deployed on select surface ships, as well as submarines, the deterrent effect could be even greater.”

Balzer pointed out that the deployment of SLCM-Ns on attack subs and surface ships would create an atmosphere of ambiguity: Russia and China wouldn’t be sure if the vessels are nuclear-armed or not, thus complicating decision-making and creating additional deterrence.

“China and Russia would have to assume SLCM-N’s presence — whether or not it is deployed, in great numbers, to forward areas. In this sense, there is considerable deterrence value and cost-effectiveness in ambiguity,” argued the scholar.

American lawmakers have been pushing ahead with the program for the last several years. While the United States has not deployed a nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile since 1991, the Trump administration argued in 2018 that the SLCM-N would “provide a needed non-strategic regional presence” in Europe and Asia and contribute “to deterrence and assurance of allies, especially in Asia.”

The SLCM-N program was reversed by President Joe Biden in 2022 as an excessive and costly solution. Nonetheless, after a heated debate, the initiative was passed within the framework of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024 under the pretext of Russia’s special military operation and China’s alleged plans to “invade” Taiwan. It became law in December 2023 with instructions to achieve operational capability of the SLCM-N by 2034.

Is ‘Limited’ Nuclear Conflict Possible?

Russia has repeatedly warned the US against lowering the nuclear threshold and hypothesizing a possibility of a limited nuclear exchange. According to Moscow, the “limited” use of nuclear weapons by no means reduces the risk of an all-out nuclear war, but rather invites it.

Commenting on Washington’s plans to deploy low-yield nuclear arms on its submarines or surface vessels in April 2020, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned the move as destabilizing.

“Those who like to theorize about the flexibility of American nuclear potential must understand that in line with the Russian military doctrine such actions are seen as warranting retaliatory use of nuclear weapons by Russia,” Zakharova said.

In May, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned NATO against delivering F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, given that the war planes could carry low-yield nuclear B61-12 bombs. Moscow said it will treat F-16s in Ukraine as nuclear-capable weapon systems, regardless of their model, and will consider their deployment a deliberate provocation.

China has also repeatedly lambasted Washington for switching to low-yield nuclear arms as a return to the Cold War era. Beijing also raised the alarm over AUKUS (Australia, UK and US pact) plans to build nuclear-powered submarines in Australia as violating non-proliferation principles. Both Russia and China pursue a no-first-use nuclear doctrine.

May 29, 2024 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

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